Container for liquefied gases



.Feb- 1, 1949 H. c. KORNEMANNy 2,460,355

CONTAINER FOR LIQUEFIED GASES original Filed Juiy 11, 1942 MINI'INVENTOR ATTORNEY HENRY C. KORNEMANN Patented Feb. l, 1949 I UNITEDsTATEs PATENT 'OFFICE t 2,460,355 y y ,CONTAINER FOB LIQUEFIED GASESration of Ohio original application July 11,`\194z.seriai No.

Divided and this application November 4, 1944, Serial No. 561,869

2 Claims. (Cl. 22o-15) This invention relates to containers for holdingcold liquids and more particularly to apparatus for the storage of aliquefied gas having a relatively low boiling-point temperature such asliquid oxygen.

In order to store liqueed gases having boilingpoint temperatures below233 K. such as liquid oxygen at atmospheric pressure or at pressuresslightly above atmospheric pressure, it is necessary that the vesselholding the liquefied gas be well protected from the heat of theatmosphere so that losses due to evaporation are maintained at a, lowvalue. It is customary to envelope completely the liquid-holding vesselwith a relatively thick layer of insulating material,

embodying the principles of the present invention; and

- Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the and thoroughly protectsuch insulation from the eilects of atmospheric moisture by providing aclosed outer shell about the vessel and insulation. The insulatingmaterial customarily employed for a liquid oxygen container is a loosepowder such as magnesium carbonate or a brous material such as mineralwool or a combination of such materials. Such insulation has a Idensitysuch that it is only self-supportingv and cannot provide any support forthe inner vessel. For moderate sized liquid oxygen containers the innervessel yis customarily supported in suspension by rods or cables securedto the outer shell or to a frame associated with the outer shell. Forrelatively large liquefied gas storage containers such method ofsupporting the inner vesselwould require the provision of excessivelyheavy side walls for the outer shell or expensive and heavy bracing andframe construction. I

Principal objects of the present'invention are:

to provide an improved construction for conequal irrespective of theexpansion and contraction due to temperature changes. A

These and other objects and novel features oi. the invention will becomeapparent from the following description and accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a view mainly'in vertical section of a relatively largeliqueed gas storage container upper portion of one of the supportingmembers for the inner vessel.

Referring now to the drawing, the inner vessel I0 and outer shell II arepreferably in the form' oi' upright cylinders having cylindrical sidewalls I2 and I3 respectively, but provided with dished upper and lowerheads I4, I5 and I6. I1, respectively. The outer shell Il is larger inall dimensions` than the inner vessel I0 by an amount suillcient toprovide an adequate insulation space between the walls I2 and I3, theupper heads Il and I5 and the lower heads I6 and I'l. Such` insulationspace is filled with suitable insulating means I9. In some instances,however, it may be desirable to employ a vacuum between the inner vesseland the outer shell for purposes of heat insulation. In such case thesurfaces of the insulation space should be highly p olished. For vesselsof relatively large size, however, it is difviicult and expensive toprovide polished surfaces cause the outer shell can be constructed so asto withstand the external atmospheric pressure. I

The inner vessel Ill is supported in desired relation to the outer shellII by a series of piers or supporting members 20, preferably spacedcircumferentially around the lower end of the cylindrical side Wall I2.The supporting members 20 are secured to the lower head Il by suitablemeans such as by welding the member to a ren enforcing plate 2| securedagainst the inside surface of the head I1. An outwardly extendingangular brace 22 may also be provided to maintain the supporting members20 in the vertical position. Such supporting members may preferably havea tubular form and be composed of a metal having a relatively low heatconductivity, such as stainless steel. The upper ends of the supportingmembers 20 are provided withfiat horizontal plates 23, the uppersurfaces of which are smooth to form bearing surfaces. Correspondingbearing surfaces on the inner vessel III are provided on the lowersurfaces of horizontal plates 24 secured in the proper positions to theinner, vessel I0. The plates 24 are secured preferably by welding to thelower ends of angular brackets 25, the upper ends of which are securedto the cylindrical side wall I2. The brackets 25v are braced by gussetplates 26 to the dished head I 6. The inwardly extending edges of theplates 24 are welded to angle plates 2l which are secured against theshoulder of the dished head I6. A lubricating material such as graphiteis interposed between the bearing surfaces of the plates 23` and 24.Thelamount of relative travel l permitted between the plates 23 and 24is preferably limited by suitable stops. Thus, a stop block 28 issecured against the under surface of the plate 24 adjacent its outeredge while the bracket 21 secured to the under surface of the plate 24adjacent its inner edge acts to prevent over travel in the otherdirection.

The outer shell may be supported by any suitvextend into the ground to adepth below the normal frost line.

Connections for the supply and withdrawal of liquid, the withdrawal ofgas, safety valves, and other auxiliary equipment may be provided as iscustomary with liquefied gas storage tanks. Such support the innervessel in desired spaced relation to the outer shell;movement-restraining means associated with said bearing surfaces on saidinner vessel and positioned to cooperate with said supporting membersfor substantially centering said inner vessel with respect to said outervessel when said inner vessel has contracted a predetermined amount dueto introduction of liquefied gas; and anti-friction means between thebearing surfaces of said inner vessel and the corresponding surfaces ofsaid supporting members, said anti-friction means being of a characterhaving adequate anti-friction properties at the temperature of saidliquefied gas whereby said inner vessel may freely contract radially andbe centered with respect to said outer shell.

2. Apparatus for the storage of liquefied gas at temperatures below 233K. comprising a closed inner vessel for holding the liquefied gas; saidinner vesselv having a side wall of substantially vertical cylindricalform; a plurality of brackets secured externally at spaced points to thelower portion of said side walls, Isaid brackets each having ahorizontal bearing surface; a closedgastight outer shell enveloping saidinner vessel and spaced therefrom to provide an evacuatable inequipmentforms no part of the present invention I and is therefore notillustrated.

It will be seen that certain features of the invention may be usedindependently of others and that changes may be made'in certain featuresof the apparatus without departing from the essentials of the invention.-For example, the

inner vessel I0 or both the inner vessel l0 andthe outer shell II may beof spherical insulating space; supporting members spaced outwardly fromthe center of the bottom of said inner vesselV and extending upwardlyfrom the bottom or iioor of the outer shell, said supporting membersbeing provided with smooth, flat horizontal upper bearing surfaces;supports for holding said outer shell in upright position, said supportsbeing positioned under said supporting members; horizontal iiat bearingsurfaces on said inner vessel positioned to rest on said upper surfacesof said supporting members, the construction and arrangement of saidsupporting members yand horizontal surfaces being such as tosulating'space; supporting members secured to and extending upwardlyfrom the lower portion with respect to said outer shell; supportingcol-` umns for said outer shell positioned substantially under saidsupporting members so that the weight of the inner vessel and contentscreates substantially no bending forces in the outer shell; and outerand inner stop means associated with said bearing surfaces forpreventing excessive relative horizontal displacement between the innervessel and outer shell and acting in cooperation with said anti-frictionmeans to center the inner vessel when it contracts upon introduction ofa charge of said liquefied gas, whereby the heat insulating efliciencyof said insulating space is at its highest value when the inner vesselis charged.

HENRY C. KORNEMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Koppel Oct. 31, 1944

